Component feeding is a well-known process in Surface Mounting Technology (SMT). In general, a feeder is used to sequentially supply surface mountable electrical components to a pick up location for subsequent placing, by a pick-and-place machine, onto a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) which is pre-printed with solder paste.
One form of feeder is a tape and reel feeder in which the electrical components are packaged on a tape that is wound onto a reel. The tape comprises individual pockets each containing one of the electrical components that are individually sealed in the pockets by a covering of thin film. In use, the film is removed when the tape enters the pick up location therefore leaving a pocket containing one of the electrical components in a position accessible by the pick-and-place machine. Unfortunately, the tape is substantially wider than the components located in the pockets thereby increasing the width of the feeder. Further, the reel and apparatus for removing the film also add to the width and overall size of the feeder.
Hopper feeders also known as bulk or tube feeders are an alternative to tape and reel feeders. Hopper feeders usually comprise a hopper in communication, along a downwardly sloping passage, with the pick up location. The downwardly sloping passage makes use of gravity for supplying the components to the pick up location. To further assist the supplying of the components to the pick up location a combination of gravity and air blasting has also been used. However, the components can sometimes be removed from the pick up location faster than they can be supplied especially when high speed carousel or rapid pick up robot arms are used for removing the components from the pick up location. This can result in an undesirable delay as it can reduce the efficiency of the pick-and-place machine which may have to wait for components to be delivered to the pick up location.